Soroptimist celebrates 21 years of Happy Feet successes

Published 6:28 am, Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Libby Howard, Plainview school nurse, addresses the Soroptimists in celebration of 21 years of Happy Feet.

Libby Howard, Plainview school nurse, addresses the Soroptimists in celebration of 21 years of Happy Feet.

Photo: Courtesy Photo

Soroptimist celebrates 21 years of Happy Feet successes

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The Soroptimist International of Plainview group celebrated the start of the 21st year of one of its most known service projects, Happy Feet, during its October 23 noon meeting. Libby Howard, Plainview school nurse at Coronado and Estacado middle schools, was the keynote speaker. The program also included a look at history of Happy Feet, which provides new sneakers and socks for needy school children in Plainview.

Helen Hogge, a longtime Soroptimist member and retiring co-chair of Happy Feet, introduced Howard, a Tulia native who has worked as a school nurse in Plainview since 1980. A 1971 graduate of NorthWest Texas Hospital, Howard and husband Ricky have two adult children and five grandchildren. Hogge noted that Howard is one of only three nurses still working locally who were serving Plainview when the Happy Feet program was born. Charlotte Adams and Rita Robertson are the other two.

Howard started by thanking the group of Soroptimists for keeping the program going for so many years, recalling the situation in Plainview schools before it came about.

“When Soroptimist started this program, it was such a blessing. We could not believe that somebody actually was going to help us get clothes and shoes for children,” Howard said. “Prior to that, we were hitting all the garage sales and begging people for hand-me-downs; we got used clothing, shoes and even underwear for those children that needed it.

“Then all of a sudden, Happy Feet started and we had brand new shoes. It’s been amazing how it boosts the kids’ spirits when they get to put on something new. You honestly cannot believe how shoes can get so stinky, and when they are worn every day without socks, they get really stinky.”

Howard said while the shoes are still appreciated regularly, the provision of clothing - particularly simple T-shirts, sweat pants and underwear, all new - has come in handy in recent years in particular.

“In our schools now, it seems to me that we are getting a lot more children that … soil their clothes easily, and it’s so nice to have something clean to put on them,” she said, noting that clothing is also useful to cover students who have arrived at school with inappropriate clothes.

One story from Howard gave insight to how vital the clothing has been for students in need. She described two new sixth-grade students who enrolled in the school with clothes that were too small and falling apart.

“They were both very large, and the boy’s pants were at least four inches too short; his shoes were worn out, he had no socks and no jacket. It was pitiful,” she recalled. “I called Happy Feet and they got me several sets of new clothes for him. I can’t tell you how much it helped him. He was so proud he could walk standing up straight, and the girl was able to have clean underwear.”

Howard admitted “mixed feelings about your organization,” stating that she hated that outside entities had to provide such assistance. But with budgets not allowing for such resources, she added that she is thankful that Happy Feet is still changing lives.

“You have touched so many kids, and you’ve made my job so much easier. I appreciate you all so much,” she said in closing.

Brenda Rowan shared the history of the Happy Feet program, birthed out of a desire to create a signature project for the professional women’s organization. The members were at a summer retreat near Quitaque and discussed the need again, when a few women mentioned that another district club created a shoe closet with gently worn used shoes for students.

“Someone said she wasn’t sure if there was a need in the Plainview schools, and I still remember Helen (Hogge, formerly in district communications) speaking up quickly to say, ‘Yes, there is a need,’” recalled Rowan. “We began talking then about how to get it going, and Helen offered to visit with the nurses and the superintendent.”

The school nurses embraced the new project, and they agreed to “be our eyes and alert us to the children in need,” Rowan added. “Without the nurses, this program never would have flown.”

Armed with new foot measurers for each campus, paid for by Soroptimist members, the nurses began to work the program. Happy Feet got a huge boost when then Lifestyles editor Nicki Logan took up the cause in an article and encouraged donations from the community toward the new effort.

“We had a lot of community response we had never dreamed of. We didn’t expect donations from the community really, but that’s when they first started coming in, and they still continue,” Rowan shared. “Donations would often come in with notes about how people had experienced need as children and it really touched them. Helen and Peggy (Wall, longtime retiring co-chair) have given programs at various other civic clubs, and several organizations donate every year to us. The Lions Club donates its Tail Twister proceeds from August and September to us, the TDCJ regional office and several Sunday school classes donate annually, and Happy Feet has received some grants from the James and Eva Mayer Foundation over the years as well.”

Some special donations have come in over the years. One family from out of town has donated in memory of their deceased son for several years.

The Happy Feet program is overseen by a Soroptimist committee led by Alice Doyle Miller and Linda Hutcherson, co-chairs, and has no overhead costs. Club members volunteer to shop for shoes whenever a nurse calls, then deliver them to the appropriate campus and make sure they fit well. Volunteers also shop for clothing as needed so the nurses have a stock of selections on hand.

For more information about Happy Feet, contact Teresa Young at 806-239-8979.